Ran out of Gas! FYI

Yeah, this is really not about running out of gas, but the error codes that come up afterwards. I'm not asking any questions, only putting out a bit of information.

Upon running out of gas and restarting, after refueling, there were no indications from the truck at all. If I hadn't had my Ultra Gauge plugged in, I would never know there were error codes to read, they went away with time or rather engine starts.

The Ultra Gauge showed:
P0171 - "System too lean bank 1"
P0174 - "System too lean bank 2"
these two codes are to be expected, I assume.

I plugged in a code reader to the OBD2 port and no codes.

This got me to thinking and I went into Tech Stream and found another code, plus one of the two above, P0174, but not the other:
P1603 - "Engine Stall History" (milage of stall was shown and a lot of other stuff I did not understand).

 

Very similar to fuel pump failure. Many people think there's codes for the low pressure pump but there is not, so you'll see just this. Lean bank 1 and 2 and a stall history code.

Hopefully it wasn't too much of a pain to find fuel.

 

Very curious how much gas you put back once you filled up ?
It happened to me once on my 21, and I also got the AT temp high warning with it as well. The weird part is it only took 20.5 gallons to full.. after multiple click attempts etc. yet the tank is advertised as 21.1

 

The fuel pickup, filter, and sender unit probably takes up that 0.6 gallons.

Also, it could be the same situation as my motorcycle. There is a half a gallon of gas you can never get out of the tank unless you turn it upside down. It’s intended to keep the fuel pump from overheating in an empty tank.

 

That's only about half a gallon spread across a fairly wide area. The pump probably can't reach the bottom bit unless you're idling on flat ground, assuming it reaches the very bottom. Any movement would slosh it to the edges, so can't reach the extra anyways.

 

Nope, I carry a 5 gallon can most all of the time.

 

Filled up with my 5 gallon can, drove 12 miles and filled up the vehicle and can with a total of 21.7 gallons.

 

If you keep filling after the nozzle clicks off, you’ll fill the charcoal canister with fuel. When it clicks off… stop

 

gotta ask.

why would you run your truck dry, when you had fuel on hand?

 

Man, I rarely ever let my tank go under half, and by rarely I’m talking maybe once in the past 20 years. I never want to be in the situation that there’s a rush for gas due to a disaster: hurricane, unexpected terrorist attack,etc and having to wait in line hours for gas instead of getting out of dodge.

 

I think gas pumps have "a bit of variance" in how much you get vs how much your charged for. I had a truck with a 96L tank that I fit 104L in(according to the pump) when filling from empty believe it or not. I don't jam extra gas in either, I stop when it clicks off. I questioned the attendant and called the supplier, all I got was a we'll look into it. You probably got gas from a friendly pump!

 

Here in Oregon the government checks that station pumps dispense the correct amount of fuel or the pump gets red tagged. There’s a sticker on each pump indicating that it’s been verified. They also checked for water and I assume other contaminants in the fuel. In the 3 years I worked at a gas station I never saw a pump red tagged but it always bugged the boss when the inspector pulled in!

 

Testing, like to know the capabilities of my vehicle. Often out in the forest or desert with no society in sight. For my vehicle I can say that going downhill the fuel level gage gets to a lower level without running out of gas than in this case going uphill and running out of gas.

 

Running low, or out on fuel is a prime way if you want to burn up your fuel pump. They need a few gallons at all times to keep those pumps cool.

 

Different philosophies I guess, but I haven't tested the bottom of a tank since being a broke student.

Like in scuba diving - the bottom third of your air tank is not to be tested. You pretend it isnt there unless there's an emergency. I feel the same way about the bottom quarter of my gas tank. I pretend it isn't there unless there is an emergency.

 

Out of curiosity, when you did this did you purge air out of the system upon refilling or just put gas in and let the fuel system work itself out?

 

I rarely pass a gas station with a half a tank or less. I thought it was a female thing,, to pass gas station after gas station, or worse off stop at one to buy a beverage and still not refill. BUT, I was a sales manager for nearly a decade, and my guys would do it. We would be driving all over God's country, in to a storm, and they'd stop for a pee-break and/or soda and drive off with 1/4 tank of diesel.

 

Terrorist attacks happen often in Texas ?

 

When I fill my 22’ up all the way it says 326 miles till empty. When my friend fills up his 16’ taco it goes up to 376 miles till empty :O

 

Well if it did I’d have enough gas to get far away